New York, Jan 18, 2026, 08:48 EST — Market closed
- MARA climbed 6.6% on Friday, tracking bitcoin’s gains along with news from other crypto-linked stocks
- Riot jumped following an AMD data-center lease, reigniting speculation about an “AI pivot” for miners
- Traders are eyeing Tuesday’s reopen and earnings forecasts for late February as the next hurdle
MARA Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA) shares climbed 6.6% on Friday, closing at $11.36. The bitcoin miner continued its volatile January streak, with investors snapping up crypto-linked stocks ahead of the weekend.
The bounce is significant as miners are shifting from being seen as steady industrial players to fast-moving proxies for bitcoin, now with an added twist: investors are betting on data-center and AI-related revenue streams. That dynamic can flip fast once a major deal drops.
U.S. stock markets remain closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next chance to gauge MARA and its sector peers will come Tuesday’s reopening, when shifts in risk appetite and crypto valuations could be swift. 1
Shares in miners jumped Friday after Riot Platforms announced a data-center lease and services deal with Advanced Micro Devices at its Rockdale, Texas facility. The contract kicks off with 25 megawatts of power capacity over an initial 10-year term, expected to generate around $311 million in revenue. Options could push that total to roughly $1 billion. Riot CEO Jason Les called the deal a “validation of Riot’s infrastructure,” while AMD CIO Hasmukh Ranjan emphasized the need for partners who can “match our pace and scale.” 2
Riot climbed roughly 16% by Friday, with CleanSpark adding close to 5%. This highlights the usual “miners move together” pattern, where stock-picking rarely pays off when company news is sparse.
Bitcoin was last near $95,144, holding steady on the day. Traders have eyed this level as a key threshold, tipping the balance between talk of a rebound and the risk of another drop in recent weeks.
Despite the mid-month rebound, some strategists remain wary. “Overall, I would still classify this rally as a ‘bear-market rally,’” Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, told MarketWatch in a note on this week’s price action. 3
MARA hasn’t offered much new on the company front lately; its investor-relations page still lists the latest updates from Nov. 4, 2025. As a result, the stock’s moves are largely tied to bitcoin’s performance and the buzz around the sector’s recent “AI/data-center” developments. 4
The downside risk for miners is always looming. A sharp bitcoin price drop can quickly undercut revenue forecasts. Meanwhile, rising “network difficulty”—the computing power required to mine a bitcoin—can limit output even if prices remain stable. On top of that, power expenses and regulatory uncertainties continue to simmer in the background.
MARA’s next key event is earnings, expected on Feb. 25 according to Zacks, which based its estimate on the company’s historical reporting schedule. 5
Tuesday’s open marks the first major test ahead. All eyes are on whether bitcoin can rally back toward $100,000. Traders will also be gauging if the recent buzz around data centers on Friday holds up after the holiday lull, especially as the wider market comes back into focus. 6
